It’s one of the best ways to celebrate something – and Friday, December 15 we celebrate it – the cupcake! It’s National Cupcake Day, which means you have the perfect excuse to bake or buy one for yourself!
Cupcakes, a single serving of cake baked in a paper or aluminum cup, were first mentioned in a cookbook in 1796, Amelia Simmons’ “American Cookery.” It was referred to as ‘a light cake to bake in small cups.’ The original recipe called for 1/2 lb. butter, 2 lbs. flour, 1 glass wine, cinnamon, nutmeg, yeast, and rose water!
In 1828, Eliza Leslie wrote about cupcakes in “Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats.” That is believed to be the earliest written reference to the term cupcake. The name is no accident, either – cupcakes started out as small cakes that were made with ingredients measured out using a standard cup!
Cupcakes were also later known as 1-2-3-4 cakes because they contained four ingredients: 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and 4 eggs.
These days, cupcakes have come a long way: there are bakeries solely devoted to cupcakes, they are now served at weddings in place of an actual cake, and you can even get one at any time of day thanks to Cupcake ATMs!
So there you have it, a reason to treat yourself today! Will it be vanilla, chocolate, red velvet… and will it be frosted, dipped in ganache, coated with sprinkles? The possibilities are endless! Enjoy!
